Top college quarterbacks continue flocking to guru George Whitfield

PACIFIC BEACH, Calif. -- George Whitfield had his eyes glued to the flat-screen TV in front of him like millions of other viewers on Saturday taking in the college football action.

Yet as he sat in a swanky sports bar with a USA TODAY Sports reporter and watched a shootout unfold between Florida State and Clemson, the renowned quarterback consultant rooted for neither team.

Whitfield was pulling for the quarterbacks, E.J. Manuel and Tajh Boyd.

"Who's ever up at the plate, that's who you've got at that moment," Whitfield said.

Manuel -- who passed for a career-high 380 yards and rushed for 102 yards in the Seminoles' explosive 49-37 victory -- and Boyd are two of Whitfield's latest projects.

He had both of them for training sessions last offseason, adding to an impressive list of clients who have come calling to Whitfield to tweak mechanics.

So when Whitfield, whose fingerprints will be on the NFL draft again next spring, text-messaged to USA TODAY Sports on Saturday, "We've got to watch FSU-Clemson," swanky sports bar, here we come.

As he watched the game, tapped messages on his iPhone and munched on appetizers, Whitfield raved about Manuel's intelligence. Then he marveled about Boyd's cannon arm -- and the need to throw at "different gears."

Boyd, incidentally, went through his sessions in Palo Alto, Calif. -- where Whitfield worked with Andrew Luck before the Stanford star was selected No. 1 overall by the Indianapolis Colts last spring.

Last year, Whitfield worked with Cam Newton beore the Carolina Panthers took him atop the 2011 draft. He's also the consultant that the Pittsburgh Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger worked with while serving a four-week suspension two years ago. He's worked with the San Diego Chargers' Philip Rivers, too.

After bouncing around for a few years as an Arena League quarterback, Whitfield has developed quite the reputation in quarterback circles.

"There's nothing like watching a young guy with all the talent, taking it to another level," he says. "That's the cool part. Right now, you want to see what they took back with them."

He says the training begins with the quarterbacks listing specific areas they want to improve. Manuel, a senior, sent a list that included the desire for a smoother throwing motion and more consistent mechanics. Boyd, a junior, listed cleaner dropbacks and better touch among objectives.

With all of them, Whitfield preaches the need to work in tight spaces.

"If you watch the best quarterbacks, they're OK with people being close to them," Whitfield said. "Some guys need broad spaces. But if you look at an Aaron Rodgers or Tom Brady, they are better in terms of their nerves and execution even when they are in a small pocket. It's like playing inside of a phone booth."

While Manuel and Boyd marched their units up and down the field, another Whitfield project -- Oklahoma senior Landry Jones -- was having a rough outing on an adjacent screen.

When Jones was stripped of the beall near his own end zone, Whitfield groaned.

He will talk to Jones soon enough. Whitfield says they talk daily, after working in sessions during the offseason at the University of California-San Diego and on the Oklahoma campus.

Then there are the text messages Whitfield exchanges with another project, Virginia Tech's 6-6 Logan Thomas.

Whitfield says he sent Thomas texts on a daily basis, underscoring the value of a compact style. The message: "Play at 6 feet."

"Well, he beat me to the punch the other day," Whitfield said. "I got a text message from him that said, 'I know: Play at 6 feet.' "

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About Reid and Mike

Reid Cherner has been with USA TODAY since 1982 and written Game On! since March 2008.

He has covered everything from high schools to horse racing to the college and the pros. The only thing he likes more than his own voice is the sound of readers telling him when he's right and wrong.

Michael Hiestand has covered sports media and marketing for USA TODAY, tackling the sports biz ranging from what's behind mega-events such as the Olympics and Super Bowl to the sometimes-hidden numbers behind the sports world's bottom line.